Do you or someone you know need the healing touch of God for your mind, heart, or soul? Are you or a loved one seeking freedom from depression, addiction, abuse, demonic influences, or something else that is causing turmoil?
Listen to one woman’s story and be encouraged.
Joanna was surrounded by opulence—white marble walls, beautifully carved statues, gold and silver ornaments, plush gardens, meandering paths along canals and through groves of trees, as well as bountiful food and drink. A far cry from the life of her fellow Jews, in the dusty environs of Galilee where they worked tirelessly to put food on their tables and pay the exorbitant taxes imposed on them by the Romans.
Joanna was the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager. Chuza held a position in which he worked closely with Herod Antipas, the Roman-appointed ruler of Galilee. All the household servants answered to Chuza and for all intents and purposes in a society where wives supported the work of their husbands, that meant they answered to Joanna for many of the daily tasks required to run a household.
This ruler that Joanna and Chuza served was violent, oppressive, and narcissistic. He was also paranoid - which explains his impulsive, unstable, and duplicitous behavior: killing John the Baptist in one moment and in the next, honoring the Jews over the Romans by not placing images of idols on their coins. Herod Antipas was interested only in what benefitted Herod Antipas. Straddling the line between acquiescing to some of the laws of the Jewish God while also trying to destroy the One who called Himself the Son of this very God, served Antipas’ purpose of self-preservation—as he feared the power of their God to destroy him if he didn’t obey, and feared the ability of Jesus to overthrow him if he didn’t first kill Jesus. Antipas undoubtedly inherited this paranoia from his grandfather, Herod the Great, who ordered the execution of all boys in Bethlehem two-years or younger, in his effort to kill Jesus upon hearing of His birth.
And so while Joanna enjoyed many creature comforts, she also lived in a controlling and fear-inducing environment. She may have felt guilty about her luxuries, or for Chuza being paid by her people’s oppressor. She may have been viewed as a traitor by family and friends, and hence, lost her relationships with them. Her life, cloistered off in the palace, likely prevented her from reaching out or spending any significant time with them. These are circumstances that would surely have led to feelings of isolation, abandonment, loneliness and entrapment.
Then there’s the possibility that Joanna was required to provide services, of an unsavory nature, to Herod Antipas. If Chuza was away taking care of some of the distant acres of Antipas’ vast estate, and Joanna was called upon by Herod, she may have become pregnant. Surely if this happened, Herod would have no trouble ordering it terminated in their customary technique of drinking an ancient herbal tea made from the silphium plant. Scripture makes no mention of Chuza and Joanna having children, which could suggest that if Joanna had lost a baby, she would not only have to deal with the trauma of abortion but also the ongoing longing for a baby in a society where a woman’s primary role was to give their husband a son. These are circumstances that would surely have led to feelings of sorrow and guilt, as well as chemical imbalance in her brain brought on by hormonal changes.
It would not be surprising in the least if Joanna was clinically depressed!
Interestingly, silphium, that abortifacient herb, which was also consumed for other “health purposes”, was a hallucinogen. If Joanna did drink silphium tea even for one of its other uses to treat things like sore throat, stomach upset, or pain, she may have hallucinated - which would have been a gateway to a wicked spiritual realm. It is an understatement to say she would have been vulnerable to demonic attacks while under the herb’s influence.
If any of these circumstances—domestic terror, family abandonment, sexual exploitation, abortion trauma, childlessness, or hallucinations—were present, I imagine Joanna pleaded to the One True God for help. At times, she may have felt unworthy to make requests of Him. I also wonder if, at any point, Joanna felt desperate enough to try saying a prayer to one or more of the many Roman false gods. Like Nixi, the god of childbirth, or Clementia for mercy from her family, or Angerona to take away her sorrow, or to Spes for hope.
When I consider Joanna, I am drawn to a passage the Hon. Charlie Temple read in his sermon on faith and fear. Psalm 23:4 says, in part, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Joanna walked some dark paths. She walked through death around her. She walked through evil inside of her. Then to think of Joanna being healed by Jesus and walking with Him “through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God”, takes my breath away!
That one little line in Luke 8, “some women [including Joanna] who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities”, says so much more than those eleven words can contain. Joanna was given a new life. Jesus showed her He could be believed.
Many of us—both male and female—have experienced some of the tragedies and hardships considered in this article. If you or a loved one has, first, I want to tell you that I am sorry this has happened. And second, I want to invite you and your loved ones to let us lift you up to Jesus through prayer! As Pastor Mark said in his sermon on Luke 10, the Lord has given followers of Christ the authority to speak healing into people’s lives, as well as cast out demons - all through the power of Jesus Christ. Come let us pray for you!
Where and When?
Prayer and Healing NightEvery Tuesday in April starting on the 5th.
Every Sunday, Ongoing